Price discrimination, algorithmic decision-making, and European non-discrimination law
- URL: http://arxiv.org/abs/2509.23851v1
- Date: Sun, 28 Sep 2025 12:41:48 GMT
- Title: Price discrimination, algorithmic decision-making, and European non-discrimination law
- Authors: Frederik Zuiderveen Borgesius,
- Abstract summary: algorithmic decision-making can have discriminatory effects.<n>Online price differentiation could lead to indirect discrimination.<n>Paper shows, however, that non-discrimination law has flaws when applied to algorithmic decision-making.
- Score: 0.2262632497140704
- License: http://arxiv.org/licenses/nonexclusive-distrib/1.0/
- Abstract: Our society can benefit immensely from algorithmic decision-making and similar types of artificial intelligence. But algorithmic decision-making can also have discriminatory effects. This paper examines that problem, using online price differentiation as an example of algorithmic decision-making. With online price differentiation, a company charges different people different prices for identical products, based on information the company has about those people. The main question in this paper is: to what extent can non-discrimination law protect people against online price differentiation? The paper shows that online price differentiation and algorithmic decision-making could lead to indirect discrimination, for instance harming people with a certain ethnicity. Indirect discrimination occurs when a practice is neutral at first glance, but ends up discriminating against people with a protected characteristic, such as ethnicity. In principle, non-discrimination law prohibits indirect discrimination. The paper also shows, however, that non-discrimination law has flaws when applied to algorithmic decision-making. For instance, algorithmic discrimination can remain hidden: people may not realise that they are being discriminated against. And many types of unfair - some might say discriminatory - algorithmic decisions are outside the scope of current non-discrimination law.
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